Opinion
All the action summed up from Round 15 of the A-League.
Adelaide United 1, Melbourne Victory 0
Coming off a disappointing loss to the Mariners and under new management with Carlos Salvachua taking the head job, Victory were looking to make amends in the away fixture in Adelaide.
VAR would come to haunt Victory once again, overturning a handball call inside their attacking box. United went on to score the opener through Ben Halloran capitalising on scrappy defending to tap through the easiest of goals, taking a lead into the break.
Victory pushed hard for an equaliser in the second half with Andrew Nabbout and Elvis Kamsoba both coming close with their chances, but it wasn’t to be. United snapped their losing streak and Victory travelled back to Melbourne ruing missed chances.
Man of the match: Ben Halloran was an attacking presence on the wing for United scoring the opener, and influential in setting up attacking play for his side.
Brisbane Roar 1, Wellington Phoenix 0
Both the Roar and Phoenix came into their clash coming off a good run of form, with a win for the Roar putting them back into top-six contention.
Both teams failed to make the most of their chances in the first half. The teams went into the halftime break failing to score.
The game needed an icebreaker, and it eventually came from the home side with Dylan Wenzel-Halls finishing after taking a clever touch in the 69th minute. It would be enough for the win with the Roar taking the all-important three points, which put them back in touch of the top six.
Man of the match: Jamie Young. Phoenix had a flurry of chances and failed to put a goal on the board. A large part of that was Jamie Young, who was a brick wall between the sticks, keeping a clean sheet for his side with important saves.
Melbourne City 2, Newcastle Jets 0
The Jets were looking to turn their fortunes around in Melbourne against an in-form City side, but it was the home side who opened the scoring early.
Craig Noone scored from range in the eighth minute to get the side off to an enthusiastic start.
The Jets did well to hold City after but gave away a penalty after the hour mark with Nikolai Topor-Stanley handballed inside the box. Jamie Maclaren stepped up from the spot to continue his hot run of goal scoring form in the 63rd minute.
(Mike Owen/Getty Images)
City put space between themselves and the third-placed Glory on the ladder.
Man of the match: Craig Noone played well on the wing, setting up attacking play for his side, which included the opening goal of the game.
Western United 3, Central Coast Mariners 0
After the week off, United came into the game against the Mariners looking to bounce back from their local derby loss to City two weeks ago.
United got off to the perfect start with Besart Berisha heading home in the sixth minute to give the home side the lead. Things got worse for United as Kye Rowles put the ball into his own net in the 29th minute.
Berisha sealed the game before half time, scoring in the 36th minute to put the home side 3-0 ahead going into the break. Both sides went goalless in the second half, United taking all three points in a dominant display.
Man of the match: Besart Berisha was a threat in attack for United scoring two goals, the opener and the sealer.
Western Sydney Wanderers 0, Perth Glory 1
Off the back off two losses, the Wanderers hosted a Glory side that won its last five games.
The Glory wasted little time getting off the mark as Jake Brimmer played through Bruno Fornaroli for the opening goal in the sixth minute. Daniel Lopar made a save but it wasn’t enough to keep the ball out of the net.
The Wanderers did well to hold off Glory for the rest of half, as the visitors took a slim 1-0 lead into the break. Both teams failed to score in the second half, as the Glory make it six wins on the trot, rediscovering their 2019-20 form.
Man of the match: Diego Castro didn’t assist or score but made a wave of attacking players for his side, finding plenty of the ball.
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